Social TV Week in Review: Will the Future of TV be Connected TV or the Second Screen? Consumer Behavior Shifts an Industry

When it comes to consumption, today’s television audiences are empowered with more choices than ever before.  The TV industry needs to understand how consumer behavior is changing in order to effectively reach and measure their customers.

A new study from Frank N. Magid Associates highlights increased adoption of connected TVs, predicting “50% [growth] annually over the next few years”. The ability to stream content directly to the main screen poses an underlying threat to cable operators. In lieu of signing on to expensive subscription-based packages, consumers will likely flock to more reasonably priced/free options.

If Magid’s analysis is wrong, the threat may not be so imminent. According to Mindshare, “Connected TV penetration & usage will lag behind Second Screens…For advertisers, the real opportunity lies on the second screen”. The Online Publishers Association is the latest to confirm ‘skyrocketing’ tablet adoption, which will fuel these second screen experiences.

Ultimately, the consumer will decide if greater value is to be found in the second screen or connected TV. Industry players need to prepare for either scenario.

Pat McDonough, SVP of insight and analytics at Nielsen, wasn’t even referring to the rise of connected TVs and second screens when he illustrated the need to ‘redefine’ consumer measurement. Instead, McDonough referenced a MediaVest/Microsoft collaboration that found “25% of all media consumption takes place while people are working”. New methodologies need to factor in a substantial workplace audience, unaccounted for in traditional households measurement.

The bad news is OOH consumption, OTT consumption, tablet proliferation, and booming second screen usage inherently complicates the ability to measure audiences. The good news is viewers, who are engaged, mobile, and socially active, are more likely to share, recommend and dig deeper into content. At least that is the promise of Social TV. Kantar Media and Intel are a few of many verifying these trends (See related articles below).

Even though Social TV may be transformative, implementation still requires a great deal of tact. A new study from Edelman finds viewers are less inclined to talk about shows online when they are on air. Furthermore, Edelman’s chair of the U.S. western region, Gail Becker says, “Social networks offer great opportunities to brands, but audiences want to remain in control, and do not want to automatically share what they are viewing”. Despite the enthusiasm for engaging viewers on new levels, networks must tread cautiously or risk alienating consumers.

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